Babul Supriyo is accused of posting "derogatory" comments against Abhishek Banerjee and his family.
The case of the "2 kg gold" allegedly involving Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee's wife has now entangled BJP leader Babul Supriyo. Mr Banerjee has written to the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), urging him to bar the BJP leader from contesting the elections for making "false, derogatory and defamatory comments" against him and his family in violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
"Babul Supriyo should be barred from contesting elections owing to his repeated violations of the Model Code of Conduct and necessary criminal proceedings and other redressal proceedings be initiated against him," the letter from Mr Banerjee's lawyer to the CEO says.
The letter quotes several tweets sent out by Mr Supriyo on March 24 about an alleged case of 2-kg gold being seized from Mr Banerjee's wife by customs officials at the Kolkata airport.
The incident occurred on March 16, after Mrs Rujira Banerjee landed in Kolkata from Bangkok. While exiting through the green channel, she and her sister were asked to stop by customs officials for a luggage scan. The two women allegedly refused to cooperate, following which police personnel escorted them out allegedly without their baggage being checked because they belong to the VIP category. In her police complaint, Mrs Banerjee said she was harassed by customs officials who also tried to extort money from her.
The "fake news" about 2 kg of gold being found in Mrs Banerjee's luggage was circulated by various news portals. Mr Supriyo cited it in a few social media posts, following which Mr Banerjee filed the complaint at the CEO's office on March 20.
While Mrs Banerjee sent legal notice to portals that had circulated news of the 2-kg gold haul and her husband issued clarifications yesterday, Mr Supriyo continued to post "libellous" tweets, the letter said.
According to The Model Code of Conduct, "criticism of other political parties, when made, shall be confined to their policies and programmes... shall refrain from criticism of all aspects of private life... The right of every individual for a peaceful and undisturbed home life shall be respected".
Mr Banerjee is the Trinamool candidate from Diamond Harbour, and his lawyer says his rights have been violated by Mr Supriyo.
Trinamool member Derek O'Brien also came out in his colleague's defence. "FinMin = Finished Minister? He blogs, sends 'spoon' who concocts trash to be relevant. Uses cheapest MCP trick to attack political rival through his wife. Not even 2gm gold was with the lady in question: Punjab's proud, upright daughter, Bengal's proud, upright daughter-in-law," he tweeted.
The BJP leader's response is awaited.